Saturday, May 31, 2014

Ok, I told you I was re-organizing my craft room and proclaimed everything was chaos. Well, now it really is. I've started to move books and materials out and about, moving the furniture, moving the carpets away, taking down curtains... I'm tired of everything being red and green, I need change. I'm also tired of my bookshelfs, they've followed me for twenty years, now it's time to organize my books differently. The photos above show my living room, who might go through some changes as well. Now it's s storage space. My animals are enjoying it in front of the tv;)

I also had a leakage in my kitchen, water all over and stress frenzy, Plummer due for final session on Monday (hopefully). Life totally unpredictable these days. And BTW never use Proff rørleggerservice!

For the craft room I bought two new pillows at Sprell, and two new pieces of furniture second hand. The bowl is IKEA, love the materials. I really need something like this to balance the floor, it is too new and mainstream, with no patina, nothing to fall in live with. I'm looking for a light blue carpet, but no luck. All carpets are beige and brown and grey. Zzzzzzzzz. So, I'm experimenting with blue curtains (below). Yesterday I found a light pink plaid at Åhlens, and the stripy one is an old favourite. I can't do anything with how the room is build, so I will try to any cheap, modern flaw.... I know, I'm really picky and a bit weird!

No concrete plans for how it all will end up. Shelfs are down, piano moved. But one thing is for sure: I really, really want a lamp like this! I've read it can take 100W!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Long weekend (I'm off work tomorrow) and lots of blogging coming up. I want to share some photos from my spring party about a month ago. Flowers, candy and sunny weather, couldn't have been better. (This week has been totally exhausting, I really need a break now, so I found it best dreaming back to some relaxing times hehe... )

Parties doen't have to be expensive. I keep some spare chairs in the basements and move the rugs outside when necessary.

Flowers are the best for decorating. I'm crazy for flowers. The jars comes from my kitchen, jam, mustard.... And complete with washi tape. The crocheted flowers are made from Arne & Carlos' book "Håndarbeid fra hagen/Knit and crochet-garden" and some are just made freestyle.

I will not deny I love being a little housewife. I love baking and making treats. One of my friends are allergic to gluten, so I made everything with her special flour, and it turned out very well. The muffins and chocolate cake have more sugar than flour anyway, lol:) The small flags are made with washi tape and pins. I will make a separate post with recipes, I realize I have several I love to share, that are really fast and easy.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Turn your old lamp shades into a lovely light string. This tip is picked up from Family Living, the one and only interior magazine that's worth reading (www.familyliving.se). I didn't have shades in all the pretty colours they used (see photo below) but instead I used coloured bulbs.

I dug into my Christmas decorations, the first strings I tried were not powerful enough, no light shone through, but second try was successful. Just pull the bulbs through the top of the lamp shades, as many as you like. To hang it I used pink ribbon and I even did some extra embellishing. The rose ribbons are scrapbooking accessories and I think they are so pretty. I'm really excited to put them to good use where I can actually see them, not just hide them in an album.

I'm planning move it into my craft room when it's finished. It's now total chaos. I've started the re-organization I was writing about....without a plan on how it will end up. Too exciting:D In the meantime, I will always have my new light string<3

Saturday, May 24, 2014

I do like my flat a lot. But I also like change. And right now, it's chaos at home. During my projects with my new animal friends (which is btw far from finished) I've realized my work spaces are not working. (Yes, in fact!) I store buttons in five different places, fabrics all over, I'm sewing on the dining table in the living room, and the ironing station is on the floor. I do enjoy being disorganized, I'm a whimsical person, but still... It would be nice to have a real workspace, not having to dig through fifty boxes (though cute boxes) every time I'm in need of something. Sorry for the bad photos, it was dark and rainy yesterday, but you get an idea about what my flat is like. (And that's even after I did some cleaning). First photo is from the craft room, but I never sit there, I end up in the living room instead (second photo).

More photos of my craft mess makes it obvious something must be done. I don't know how to yet. I rent my flat, I can't bang down the wall between the two room, which would be ideal. I can't get rid of the terrible artificial materials on the walls and floor, 90-ies rehab, ugh! I want nothing but the real thing, oak, birch, teak, pine - ever lasting, I don't want new furniture, that breaks down and forces me to buy new ones. I shop second hand, in flea markets, of the internet, it's not environmental friendly to keep buying and buying new stuff. But, the flat is what it is.. I have to do the best I can with what I have. I got some small glass jars for storing from a thrift store yesterday (last photo) and started of really small by organizing embellishments.

Of course I'm dreaming of a big loft with a roof like this and large windows, but....but....;)

I have some chairs in the basement though, saved from the dumpster, they look like semi-old school chairs, must find some use for them. I also have a project with light. Will share soon. While I keep thinking, I found some some inspiration. All from Mollie Makes, my favourite magazine!

I'm especially in love with the oversized wallflowers. They're from the Mollie Makes wedding special. I realized you didn't have to get married to enjoy all the great interior tips there.

First little project completed. Will find good use for the lovely, blue bowl. Will keep you posted on all development!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Friday, two weeks ago, I went to Berlin, just for the day. I have done a day trip by plane to Copenhagen earlier and it was great, so I thought this was a really good idea. I could do some sightseeing (of abandoned places of course!), watch the fruit trees in bloom, ride my bike in the sun and do lots of shopping. I found cheap flights with Air Berlin, leaving early, home late. Of course, all this was a really good idea. There's one flaw in the previous sentences though. "In the sun". Right. My Friday in Berlin didn't quite turn out as planned, it was raining, and raining even more, I was on my bike still, I mean, I was set for abandoned places, right? So, I was wet, cold, ended up spending too much time in a too big shopping centre to warm up again, went out, didn't enjoy any fruit trees, just focused on getting from place to place without dying lol. It sound not-so-fab, but it was still ok. I recommend the day trips regardless. It's kind of a lottery, but I still got to enjoy Berlin. Except for abandoned places, I almost took no photos at all though. The photos of my favourite stores I was planning to shoot, I had to steal off the internet. Sorry! Still, here's my best shopping tips:

Stationary and some paper, and also beautiful leather products, prints and artwork

Both these places have the most friendly staff. There's one more paper store in Prenzlauer Berg, and it's equally pretty, but I couldn't locate now, rain.... But next time!

Frau Tulpe Veteranenstraße 19

My favourite fabric store, ever! So inspiring, tons of fabrics and everything else you need for sewing. Great staff, speaks English, helps you out all the time, love this place! Close to both a Photobooth and Schöne Schreibwaren.

Lieblingsplatz Kollwitzstraße 22

Sweet little shop/workshop, with stuffed animals of their own design and lots of one-of-a-kind items for children and playful grow ups.

Other top ten places:

Ok, I didn't get to do all I wanted to do. But I passed by one of my favourite cinemas Babylon (Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 30) and food shopped at Bio Markt, so tasty eco food, their fruit and vegetable department is to die for! (Kollwitzstraße 17). My preferred place to rent a bike is St.Christophers inn Hostel. Also my preferred place to stay, you can even rent your own apartment so cheap. (Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 41). Last but not least, I went for a swim. I've really been wanting to visit Stadtbad Mitte for so long (the yellow building, down, left). Build in 1927-30 by architects Carlo Jelkman, Rudolf Gleye and Heinrich Tessenow it's a real gem for a modernist junkie like myself. The pool is 50m and the glass roof and the large windows makes swimming really special. I loved it! Bring a 1€ coin for the locker. A swim also felt really good after biking around in the rain wearing wet clothes for ages....

Stadtbad Mitte!

(By the way, did I mention Prenzlauer Berg is my favourite part of the city....)

So, what about abandoned places? I saw two, one where I've been before and one new. I will devote a special post to them later, but here's two photos, one from Universität Berlin's former institute of anatomy and one from Ballhaus Grünau. If you feel this is really intriguing, check out this blog: www.abandonedberlin.com.

Finally some photos I took myself!

I had lots of plans for the day that didn't happen, but here's two top tips from one of the best cities in the world:

Dussman Friedrichstraße 90

THE bookstore! Also music, movies etc

Flohmarkt am Arkonaplatz

If you're in Berlin on a Sunday, don't miss this flea market. Forget about Flohmarkt am Mauerpark, too big, too noisy, too much crap. Go to Arkonaplatz instead. Lots of 50-60ies fun, a lot more cozy, not expensive at all.

And so, what about the photo booths? It's embarrassing. I didn't visit one this time, even if there's one right outside Frau Tulpe. It just didn't happen. But they're all over Berlin. www.photoautomat.de will tell you where. Enjoy! In late June, I'm off to Stockholm. Tove's city guide coming up!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Tomorrow is May 17th, our constitution day, so lovely, it means good times with friends and family, eating lots if ice cream and strawberries, and even more treats, like these chocolate yummies. If you feel like doing something quick and easy for tomorrow that really looks pretty, it's not too late, though it's eight thirty in the afternoon.

You need:

Chocolate, white and brown, whatever you prefer. Pick the one for baking, it melts more easily. Don't fall for the temptation of buying the cheaper kind. Just don't! It won't melt at all! It turns into a hard rock, then you'll try everything to make it work. I ended up cutting myself on a broken glass bowl, lots of blood, then I fainted on the floor, but that's a different story;) Of course, I'm all fine now, but mark my words! Don't buy the cheap chocolate! Don't! (You don't have to buy the crazy expensive either. Just buy the normal one.)

The other thing you need is sprinkles. Lots of it. In all the nicest colours. My sprinkles are mostly from Lagerhaus, fab Swedish interior shop.

Then you just melt the chocolate, put it out on the moulds with a little spoon, or just on baking papers if you don't have a silicon mould. Wait a few minutes before sprinkling the sprinkles, then let your candy rest until tomorrow.

Don't worry if they look a little weird before sprinkling. Sprinkles are your friend. They hide everything. And one more thing, the white took longer to harden than the brown.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

I've been sewing a lot lately. I've been decorating for party, travelled, cooked....but I didn't blog in a month, though I really want to share. There's not enough time. I'm Instagramming my 365 and it's really convenient, but the blog... If I want to blog, there must be some continuity. I can't constantly feel bad because "I should be blogging every day, or at least really often if there's any use to it". And then, it doesn't happen. So, after giving it some though. I've decided to blog every weekend. During weekends I feel extra inspired, and I have a lot more time at my hands. Like today! I started by writing about sewing. This is what this post really is about. Some weeks ago I started sketching out some new animal friends, but again, where's the time? By now, they're slovely and steady emerging from my sewing machine. I started with Swan, she spoke to me the most, and while she developed, I realized she was going to the ball. Then, of course the rest of her friends are going to the ball as well. Swan, Cat and Beaver is ready. Lots of more fauna to go. (Yay for scrapbooking supplies and old Barbie gear!)

I've made the patterns myself and I never know exactly how my new mates will turn out. That's the fun part. There's always lots of adjustments along the way. I made paws for Cat, then ditched them when I realized they didn't look right. Stuffing is really fascinating. That's when the animal gets its shape and life. Finally, accessorizes are the icing. It's really gem, mix and match colours and textures, it's like scrapbooking on fabrics. Swan is really girly. A bit vain, soft, with bling and flowers. Cat is more sensible, likes colour, walks her own way. Beaver likes jazz music. He found his tie in his dad's locker. Prima! I'm not planning to sell any of my animals at these point, I make them for my own enjoyment and want to keep them as I like it a lot, I don't have an Etsy-shop now, and I haven't planned any tutorials, but it could do that later, if anyone wants to learn how:)

I've never attended any sewing classes, I've learned some in school, after that I've just tried and failed a lot. I've put together some advice for sewing lovers that often feel confused, like myself.

1. Don't be afraid to try. Make a sample in a worn out or cheap fabric, just to see how your idea turns out. It will make a lot of pieces fall into place.

2. Copy patterns from books or online. Then, when you understand how they work, you can start making your own patterns.

3. Play with fabrics of different textures, not just cotton. Wool, felt, linen, leather-try to figure out what would best fit "the mood" of the item you're making. Play with colours and patterns too. Mix something you never thought would work, and amazingly, it often does.

4. Don't rush. There's no detours in sewing. Be accurate when measuring and cutting, make sure all seams are fastened, set you sewing machine on a low speed so you don't loose control. Use lots of pins! Pins are your friends!

5. Set up sewing dates with your friends. It's so much fun and totally inspiring crafting together. The most mysterious pattern makes much more sense when you're two.

Where to start? Pretty fabrics can be bought online, www.etsy.com and www.ebay.com of course, and in one of my favourite places: www.frautulpe.de

For craft magazines, there's plenty, but I heart Mollie Makes the most. All back issues can be purchased in AppStore, and they have a great blog.

Happy crafting, I'm now modifying patterns for Rabbit and Raccoon, after having experienced Beaver, and how he turned out.